The San Francisco Police Department held a town hall Tuesday to provide more details on what led an officer to shoot a man and his dog last week.
In the afternoon of Sunday, Nov. 9, police officers of the Tenderloin police district were patrolling when a man came up to them reporting that he had been bit in the leg by an off-leash dog.
He showed officers a bloody wound on his leg, according to body camera footage presented during the virtual town hall.
Two officers located the owner of the shepherd and husky mix, 29-year-old Trusten Eaton, near Market and O’Farrell streets.
Eaton appeared to resist the commands of an officer trying to place him under arrest. The dog then barked toward the officer when Eaton got away from the officer’s grasp, according to surveillance footage.
That’s when one of the officers pulled out his gun and threatened to shoot the dog if the owner resisted arrest.
“Get over here or your dog’s going to get shot,” an officer said to Eaton.
As Eaton walked away, an officer tried again to place him under arrest. During the scuffle, the dog appeared to lunge toward another officer, who then fired one shot in the dog’s leg, according to body camera footage.
Eaton then allegedly “charged” at the officer who shot the dog and appeared to throw a plastic bottle toward him, police said. Another shot was fired by the officer and Eaton was struck in the leg.
Eaton then appeared to grab the officer before running away. The whimpering dog also ran to catch up with Eaton further down Market Street, body camera footage showed.
Backup police officers arrived shortly after and helped place handcuffs on Eaton. As they were doing so, the dog appeared to bite an officer. A photo of the officer’s wound was shown in the presentation.
Eaton was treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. The dog was taken to a veterinary clinic for non-life-threatening injuries.
Eaton was arrested on suspicion of resisting a peace officer and using threats, force, or violence to obstruct an officer. He is also suspected of other violations related to the dog’s behavior and having an unleashed dog.
Interim Police Chief Paul Yep said during the town hall that at the time of the shooting, the officers were not aware that the bottle thrown by Eaton was made of plastic.
The shooting is still being investigated, and the department is evaluating if the officer who shot Eaton and the dog was in compliance with the department’s “Use of Force” policy, Yep said.
Tenderloin Station Capt. Matthew Sullivan praised the officers for their response.
“The expectation for officers at Tenderloin Station is to get out there, enforce the law and engage with the community. In this incident just described, these officers were doing exactly that,” he said during the town hall. “They were flagged down and took action regarding a dangerous dog, an issue that we continue to see in the Tenderloin that affects the daily lives and sense of safety for many residents.”
